Klingonese
): "deck 2, red sector"]] , an ancient Klingon scroll written in Klingonese]] '''Klingonese' (also known more commonly as "Klingon") was the language used throughout the Klingon Empire. It was boasted that half the quadrant was learning the language by the mid-23rd century. ( ) By the late-23rd century, several Federation authors wrote books on learning the Klingon language. Uhura had several on hand aboard the Enterprise in 2293, when she had to convince a Klingon patrol post that they were the Klingon freighter Ursva, including Introduction to Klingon Grammar. ( ) The Klingon language contained eighty poly-guttural dialects constructed on an adaptive syntax. The first Human to become fluent in it was Hoshi Sato, who learned from a linguistic database provided by the Vulcans. ( ) Sato once remarked that a book given to her by Tarquin, written by a civilization over a thousand years dead, was in a language very similar to medieval Klingon. ( ) The Klingon language was not an immutable language. It was constantly changing to meet the needs and aspirations of the people. In the mid-24th century, the word peacemaker appeared for the first time in Klingonese after the negotiations mediated by Riva between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets took place. ( ) However, as of the late 24th century, there still did not seem to be a Klingon word for jolly. ( ) Montgomery Scott once stated that reading Klingon was hard compared to maintaining damage control aboard a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. ( ) The directory of the Promenade on Deep Space 9 was written in Klingonese, as well as English, Vulcan, Ferengi, Bajoran, and Cardassian. Kathryn Janeway stated to Arturis that, while Arturis could speak over 4,000 languages, she could barely speak basic Klingon. B'Elanna Torres stated that she found the language a little too robust for her taste. ( ) In 2374, Alexander Rozhenko admitted to Miles O'Brien that he could barely even say his name in Klingon. ( ) Klingon vocabulary Klingonese quotes ;bangwI' : "My beloved" Spoken by Valkris to Kruge shortly before her vessel was destroyed. ;matlh! jol yIchu'!: "Maltz! Activate beam!" - :Kruge when beaming the crew of the Enterprise to his Bird of Prey, and when Kirk beams up with Spock after defeating Kruge. ---- ;taH pagh taHbe': to be or not to be - ---- ;nuqneH, qaleghneS: What do you want? I am honored to see you - ---- ;naDev ghoS: come here - ;jIlajneS. ghIj qet jaghmeyjaj: "I accept honor. May your enemies run with fear" (Lit: I accept your honor. He is scared, the scattered around enemies' day run.) - ---- A drinking song: ;'ej HumtaH 'ej DechtaH 'Iw: And the blood was ankle deep ;'ej Doq SoDtaH ghoSpa' Sqral bIQtIq: And the River Skral ran crimson red ;'e' pa' jaj law' mo' jaj puS: On the day above all days ;jaj qeylIS molar mIgh HoHchu'qu': When Kahless slew evil Molor dead :As with many other Klingon quotations, this song is grammatically ill-formed according to Marc Okrand's dictionary. A close equivalent of the given English translation might be something similar to: ;'ej ngIb Saw', vI', Dech je 'Iw; ;'ej Doq, SoDtaH, ghoStaH SIQal bIQtIq; ;ngugh, jaj nIv law' Hoch nIv puS, ;molor mIgh HoHchu'qu'DI' qeylIS. - and ---- ;Mok'Ta vor, kash a'VEH: ''You are an enemy of my House - ---- ;wIy cha': show tactical display - ---- ;SoHvaD pagh vIjatlh, tera'ngan!: I have nothing to say to you, Human! ;'ay'vamDaq nuHmey tIQeq: target weapons on this section - ---- ;quv lughaj Archer HoD beqDaj je: Captain Archer and his crew are honorable people - ---- ;maj ram: "Good night", as said by both Jadzia Dax and Kor as the former headed for bed. - petaQ One Klingon term used on numerous occasions was petaQ (also spelled "Pahtak", "Pathak", "p'tahk", "p'takh", "patahk", "pahtk", or "p'tak"). It was also used by the Klingons of the mirror universe. According to William T. Riker, petaQ was a curse word. ( ) Usage *Romulan Admiral Alidar Jarok asked Commander William T. Riker how he'd allow "a Klingon petaQ to walk around in a Starfleet uniform". ( ) *J'Dan called Worf a pahtak when he didn't want to help him escape with a shuttlecraft. ( ) *A Klingon officer aboard the Duras sisters' Bird-of-Prey called Tolian Soran a petaq when the El-Aurian returned to the bridge of the vessel after torturing Geordi La Forge. ( ) *After Quark mentioned D'Ghor, Tumek told him "that pahtak s name is not spoken in this House". ( ) *Morka called several Romulans in Quark's "filthy pahtaks" in 2371. ( ) *Kor called Worf a "traitorous p'tak" when he believed he was going to steal the Sword of Kahless from him. ( ) *In 2372 in the mirror universe, Regent Worf called Garak "the p'tak who lost Terok Nor to the rebels". ( ) *Worf called a Dopterian a p'tak after he discovered the alien had broken into his quarters and had stolen several items belonging to him. ( ) *A Klingon stationed on Deep Space 9 called Laas a p'tak after the Changeling told him his hands would have a stench on them if they were "stained with the blood of Klingon warriors", as the Klingon had told him. ( ) *After The Doctor added a "daydream" subroutine to his program, and started malfunctioning, B'Elanna Torres reminded him of an old Klingon saying while she was trying to fix it: "A Doctor that operates on himself has a ''pa'taQ for a patient." ( ) *The fully-Klingon B'Elanna Torres called her separated fully-Human self a ''petaQ several times after rescuing her Human counterpart from a Vidiian prison barracks. ( ) *B'Elanna Torres used to call Max Burke pahtk while they were attending Starfleet Academy. ( ) *B'Elanna Torres called Ensign Vorik a petaQ when they were both under the influence of Vorik's Pon farr. ( ) Non-Klingon speakers of Klingonese * Arturis * Curzon Dax * Ezri Dax * Jadzia Dax * Emergency Medical Hologram * Sito Jaxa * Flaherty * Elim Garak * Kathryn Janeway * James T. Kirk * Melora Pazlar * Jean-Luc Picard * Quark * William T. Riker * Hoshi Sato * Montgomery Scott * Benjamin Sisko Background The Klingon language was originally called "Klingonese" in the episode (by Korax) and again in (by Quark). Most later episodes refer to the language simply as "Klingon," and non-canon names include Klingonaase and tlhIngan Hol. Some people assert that Michael Pataki actually said "Klingoni" in "The Trouble with Tribbles", but this conflicts with the script and the Star Trek Encyclopedia. The Klingon language was developed by James Doohan for , and expanded for by Marc Okrand, who enlarged the lexicon and created a grammar around the original dozen words Doohan had created. It has spawned several reference works, beginning with The Klingon Dictionary. Ironically, Scotty once remarked, "reading Klingon, that's hard." ( ) Michael Okuda, who led the TNG-era art departments in creating Klingon language graphics, has admitted they are randomly arranged symbols, which he based on the small number of Klingon writings visible in TOS and the ''Star Trek'' films. These graphics and writings do not reflect any possible spellings or translations in what Okrand's non-canon works call pIqaD, the native Klingon writing system. Sounds The sounds of the Klingon language as developed by Marc Okrand are harsh and guttural. This transliteration system was used in preparing scripts and phrases when Okrand supplied dialog and coached pronunciation. Below is a table providing a rough guide on how to pronounce Klingon and the standard transliteration of the sounds of Klingon. Please note that this table corresponds to the sounds of the standard dialect used when Okrand created the language; other writers have introduced other sounds and concepts into the language. Basic phrases Below is a short list of some useful basic phrases in the tlhIngan Hol dialect, the most commonly-heard dialect used in the Empire. Inconsistencies The tlhIngan Hol dialect is featured most prominently in the Star Trek movies and intermittently in the series. In various instances where spoken Klingon was used in the different series, the writers departed from Okrand's version in several respects: *They made up their own Klingon words: e.g kuva'magh or pfiots, against Okrand's pronunciation rules of standard tlhIngan Hol *They used established Klingon words but in such a way that they were strung together without following Okrand's grammar rules, for example SoH batlh jI' for "you honor me", even though this sentence means something like "I am a honor you are". The correct translation of "you honor me" would be choquvmoH or tuquvmoH, depending on whether you referred to one person or multiple people. *They gave new or extended meaning based on the English translation of a word, for example pu'DaH (pronounced poo-dakh) - phasers and cha (pronounced chah) - torpedoes, becomes pu'Dah dak cha (pronounced puh-dar dack chah) meaning photon torpedoes, when Okrand had already devised ' otlh cha. Ronald D. Moore, noted for his major contributions to developing the Klingon culture, commented "Whether or not we use the language as spelled out in Marc's dictionary is up to the individual writer. I personally find the dictionary cumbersome and usually find it easier to make it up phonetically." Episodes in which Klingonese is spoken * ''Star Trek'' films ** ** (by Commander Kruge and crew) ** ** ** ** (Deleted Scene, by the Klingon guards of Rura Penthe) * ** ** ** ** ** ** (sung by the Klingons in the Romulan prison camp after Worf returns from "the hunt") ** (by the bridge crew, at Worf's birthday party) ** * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * ** (by Jeffrey) ** (by Arturis) ** ** ** (by Miral Paris) * ** (by Klaang, Hoshi Sato and the leader of the Klingon High Council) ** ** (by Hoshi Sato) ** (by the unnamed Klingon prisoner) See also * The Klingon Hamlet External links * The Klingon Encyclopedia * The Klingon Dictionary * Klingon Language Institute * * * Klingon portal at Google - Kloogle? * Klingon Academy de:Klingonische Sprache es:Diccionario Klingon fr:Klingon (langue) sv:Klingonska Category:Languages